Vodafone to offer fixed-line services
By Tony Glover - Technology Editor
19 March 2006
VODAFONE’S chief executive Arun Sarin plans to offer fixed-line services such as broadband internet and internet voice (VoIP) over phone lines alongside the company’s traditional mobile service.
“The question is as the world evolves with services like VoIP and wi-fi and all that, should we expand the services our company provides?” said Sarin – confirming The Business’s prediction that Vodafone has little option but to offer fixed-line as well as mobile services to compete with fixed-line operators offering mobile services.
Sarin told The Business that, contrary to some analyst expectations, Vodafone has no immediate plans to go on the acquisition trail to buy fixed-line players such as BT.
Sarin said: “I am not sure why one would want to buy a fixed-line asset when one can resell broadband DSL [digital subscriber line] and other bits we may want to bundle.” Vodafone is already a customer of BT and, according to a senior City analyst, would be likely to lease its fixed-line capacity from BT. Such deals in key European markets would enable Vodafone to compete with the “quadruple-play” services being offered by fixed-line operators which include fixed and mobile phones, broadband internet and digital television all on the same bill.
This is a tactic already used extensively in countries such as France and is rapidly being adopted in the UK. According to a senior City source, unless Vodafone can offer consumers the same breadth of service, it risks losing mobile customers to fixed-line operators with mobile services. Last week, BT also launched a converged fixed and mobile offering for corporate customers. Called BT Business Plan with Mobile, it has been on trial since July last year and offers small and medium-sized businesses one bill, an annual 5% discount on combined fixed and mobile calls, capped rates on fixed-line calls and preferential rates on mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-office calls.
Sarin also revealed Vodafone would consider increasing its 10% holding in Indian operator Bharti Tele-Ventures “if there are other shareholders who wanted to come out”.
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